Meet the Model Robots Who Ruled the 2016 Met Gala

Walking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, just past a swirling DNA double helix of red silk and white lace roses, guests at the 2016 Met Gala immediately encountered a head-turning homage to the “Manus x Machina” exhibition: a squad of living, breathing robots. Eighteen models were transformed by makeup artist Pat McGrath, who dipped into pots of silver shadow and painted pearlescent highlighter across cheekbones to craft an otherworldly glow. To flatter the metallic Paco Rabanne and Courrèges dresses, styled by Vogue’s Sara Moonves, hair was slicked back into tight braided knots and doused with silver spray paint, while ultra-long lashes came in sparkling tinsel and downy white feathers, romantic and futuristic by turns. Last but not least, there were sleek silver plates, made by McGrath, that framed each face like a sci-fi halo—recalling Alicia Vikander’s Ex Machina dome and perfectly capturing the spirit of the man-meets-machine theme.